you were part of the group that acquired northern rock.hat are your plans for fbl financial services? what would you like to see this develop in to? >> we took over northern rock, we branded it virgin money. we are 50% over what we thought we would be in the first six months since we have taken it over. people trust the virgin brand. we are attracting tons of new customers and have a chance to shake up the banking industry. >> you have helped to create stability in an environment where we were seeing upset. how's europe doing from your sfientd? >> i'm a born optimist, i feel the government has got the fire power to make sure that europe comes through and europe is not going to let the world down. >> release, release. >> taking the world up is branson's next and true to form well publicized bet. space tourism. you said virgin galactic could be taking people in to space by 2012. tickets $200,000. what do you get for that price? >> you get the ride of a lifetime. i'm hoping by the end of the year we will be taking people up. it may slip in to

and innovation into the market well sir richard branson of virgin money which recently bought northern rock has increased interest rates on its credit cards by almost fifty percent and the latest blow to consumers already hit by rising mortgage rates the bank group has issued a take it or leave it ultimatum telling customers to accept the rises or pay off their balances talk about markets. who. own who who are the rort. and then advise it of course he's part of the club any jacks people's rights up and he commits financial hole because he can put financial part time he's an ugly ugly british muppet who is basically also on his knees in front of osborne performing services well the credit card rates they're charging are now twenty four point nine percent let's look at thirty percent we're just going to string you know month old ladies you piece of trash so here we have. our governments taking out one hundred year mortgages on our country essentially in order to give these banks which goldman sachs executive director has just said are continuing to defraud the population's right so forcing us

record lows this type of rate rate is truly sick so remember sir richard branson was able to buy northern rock the state owned bank in the u.k. by promising that he was going to introduce competition and innovation into the market well sir richard branson's virgin money which recently bought northern rock has increased interest rates on its credit cards by almost fifty percent and the latest blow to consumers already hit by rising mortgage rates the bank group has issued a take it or leave it ultimatum telling customers to accept the rises or pay off their balances talk about markets the sky branson look at those big. who. own who who are who are the rover. and then advise it of course he's part of the club any jacks peoples rights up and he commits financial hole or cost he can put financial or part time he's an ugly ugly british muppet who is basically also on his knees in front of born performing services well the credit card rates they're charging are now twenty four point nine percent let's begin fifty percent we're just going to string you know month old ladies you piece of trash so here

lows this type of rate rape is truly sick so you remember sir richard branson was able to buy northern rock the state owned bank in the u.k. by promising that he was going to introduce competition and innovation into the market well sir richard branson of virgin money which recently bought northern rock has increased interest rates on its credit cards by almost fifty percent and the latest blow to consumers already hit by rising mortgage rates the bank rupe has issued a take it or leave it all to me tim telling customers to accept the rises or pay off their balances talked about muppets at the start branson has had those big did not know who to. call who who wrote. and then the buzz it of course he's part of the club any jacks people's rights up and he commits financial hole cause he could financial part time he's an ugly ugly british muppet who is basically also on his knees in front of osborne performing services well the credit card rates they're charging are now twenty four point nine percent let's make a fifty percent what is called the straight you know model ladies you piece of trash

you were part of a group that acquired northern rock.hat are your plans and what do you see it evolving into? >> we branded it virgin money with 50% over what we thought we would be in the first six months since taking it over. we attracted the virgin brand and virgin customers. we have a chance of shaking up the banking industry. >> you have created stability in an environment where we were seeing upset. how is europe doing from your sta standpoint? >> the government has the pass to make sure europe comes through. >> release. release. release. >> taking the world up is the next well publicized bet, space tourism. you said you could be taking customers into space by the end of 2012. >> you get the ride of a lifetime. i hope by the end of this year we'll be take iing people up. it may well slip into next year. virgin is ahead of the competition as far as space travel is concerned. >> it's ridiculously exciting. myself and my children will go on the first flight. >> what do you do in your individual plans? >> i was in the dominican republi

. >> we start with some breaking news, we're getting reports of strong earthquakes rocked northern japan. >> it is listed as a 6.0 magnitude and so far a tsunami warning has not been issued. no initial reports of any damages or injuries but we will bring you the very latest. >> this morning we're keeping an eye on the storm as another band of rain and snow gets ready to move into our area >> high-definition doppler radar is showing some pretty bright colors this morning in light to moderate rain showing up across the bay area. the yellow stuff is the heavier cells making their way across the area. it looks like the rain is coming down heaviest right now in parts of the north bay. be extra careful if you are about to start your morning commute and make sure you carry your rain year as well. we have a low pressure system sitting over the bay area bringing us some pretty windy conditions as well. it looks like the wind will pick up throughout the course of the afternoon. were pinpoint forecasts, temperatures will be on the cooler side, mostly on the upper fifties to low 60s. a little bit co

. >> this sunday marks the anniversary of the killer tsunami that rocked northern japan so hard.he magnitude 9 quake killed more than 19,000 people. it knocked out three nuclear power plants all of which still remain off line. radiation is still leaking from them and two of the 54 actors are idle. >>> emergency responsibilityers marked the anniversary today by touring santa cruz harbor. it was one of dozens of ports damaged by the tsunami. 23 of 29 docks at santa cruz harbor were damaged. since last year's disaster, santa cruz remapped tsunami zone and installed big wave warning instruments. >> in california the state's unemployment rate in january fell below 11% for the first time in three years. nationally mishad had 227,000 jobs, beating the expert predictions, jobless rate is 8.3%. it is the strongest three months of job growth since the recession ended. >> it was not a day for sunbathing in hawaii. people woke up to the unusual sound of hailstones pounding the ground this morning. let's take a look at them. large hailstones bounced off the pavement on the within ward signed

. >> this sunday marks the anniversary of the killer tsunami that rocked northern japan so hard.de 9 quake killed more than 19,000 people. it knocked out three nuclear power plants all of which still remain off line. radiation is still leaking from them and two of the 54 actors are idle. >>> emergency responsibilityers marked the anniversary today by touring santa cruz harbor. it was one of dozens of ports damaged by the tsunami. 23 of 29 docks at santa cruz harbor were damaged. since last year's disaster, santa cruz remapped tsunami zone and installed big wave warning instruments. >> in california the state's unemployment rate in january fell below 11% for the first time in three years. nationally mishad had 227,000 jobs, beating the expert predictions, jobless rate is 8.3%. it is the strongest three months of job growth since the recession ended. >> it was not a day for sunbathing in hawaii. people woke up to the unusual sound of hailstones pounding the ground this morning. let's take a look at them. large hailstones bounced off the pavement on the within ward signed of oahu. i

powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake has rocked northern japan.e concerned about whether or not it would turn into a tsunami. is it yes or is it no, rob? >> it would only with a local one. this is nowhere near the 9.0 quake that happened just a year ago over there. 9.0 over 6. huge difference. 2,000 times more energy released. but 6.8 is nothing to sneeze at. it can do some damage and they felt the shaking across the northern island of honshu. here's sendai and fukushima with last year's quake. the northern island feeling some shaking with this but the tsunami advisory that has been issued by the japan meteorological agency, issued for the north eaeastern honshu, think probably less than a meter of a wave. nothing like a massive tsunami like last year but certainly enough for people to feel it and light damage and enough to give people at least moving quickly away from the coast in anticipation of a small tsunami across the northeastern honshu. >> or really bad memories three difficu days after the anniversary. >>> he didn't eat grits and he didn'

a powerful earthquake rocked northern japan just a few hours ago and the magnitude, 6.4. they say there will be some small changes in sea levels but there is no risk of a tsunami. it was the same region that was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami and so far this morning there is no word of any damage in this morning's quake. >>> time now back here at home, a preliminary hearing nor a man who is accused of a shooting with highway patrol officers. he is charged with four counts of attempted murder of a peace officer. chp officers pull under him over in oakland back in -- pulled him over in july 20th 10 and a gun battle broke out. williams was on his way to san francisco planning to kill people at the aclu and tides foundation. >>> a body may have been trapped in a submerged car for nearly two years. in merced county, the water reseeded enough to see the car. they say it has been missing since 2010. sheriff's deputies have been able to pull up the car and so far no word on the identity of that person. >>> back on march 14th, tad voted to close the door to make way for

rock and nashville. snow showers in northern minnesota. >> 67 in dallas, 70 in atlanta. 6 66 in mork. that sounds nice. 40s from minneapolis to detroit. boise, 52. >> you always remember the first time you're able to wear shorts and a t-shirt. >> a beautiful day. >>> coming up, the reviews are in. does the new ipad live up to the hype? >>> and the details of whitney houston's will revealed. >>> and hallelujah, the marriage of mexican food and snack chip has begun. >>> welcome back, everyone. there's a new sign of recovery. we're taking out loans again. consumer borrowing rose by almost $18 billion in january. the biggest increase was in the dat goir that includes auto and student loans. borrowing on credit cards fell. consumer borrowing is now practically where it was before the recession. >>> private sector emfloiers added 216,000 more jobs since last month. there are cutbacks in government jobs. another report indicating companies may have squeezed about they'll can out of the existing work force. >>> overseas markets were up overnight. tokyo's nikkei average jumped 193 today. hong

louis through the boot of missouri, northern portions of arkansas, outside of little rock, maybe memphis. friday, that's when everything comes together. the moisture out of the gulf, the strong storm headed up to the great lakes. this area of red is a moderate risk of severe storms. we are pretty sure we'll get tornadoes, large hail and a big damaging wind event this is right where the tornadoes went through yesterday from louisville, lexington, bowling green, nashville, columbus. that's the concern for tomorrow. later in the show we'll talk about that snowstorm still going on in new england. we'll update that forecast next. >> all right, bill. thanks. >>> big ben speaks, apple hits a new high and your chance to own the home court of a basketball icon. your "first look" at business headlines is straight up. >>> a huge win for usa soccer and kobe bryant like you've never seen him before you're watching "first look" on msnbc. what's with you? trouble with a car insurance claim. [ dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can trust 'e

rock and nashville. snow showers in northern minnesota. >> 67 in dallas, 70 in atlanta. 6 66 in mork. that sounds nice. 40s from minneapolis to detroit. boise, 52. >> you always remember the first time you're able to wear shorts and a t-shirt. >> a beautiful day. >>> coming up, the reviews are in. does the new ipad live up to the hype? >>> and the details of whitney houston's will revealed. >>> and hallelujah, the marriage of mexican food and snack chip has begun. hey, your high speed internet here, at home... ...and on the go... ...with some really big news. it's b-i-g -- big. high speed internet from at&t at home... ...includes wi-fi access on the go. woo-hoo! [ together ] it's an unbelievable deal. well, gotta go. but wait -- there's more... [ female announcer ] go to the website below today and get high speed internet for the unbelievably low price of just 14.95 a month for 12 months with a one-year price guarantee. it's all the speed you need at a great price. you can chill online at a park. here, pidgie, pidgie. [ pigeon coos ] and surf the web at your favorite bookstore. our in

a powerful earthquake rocked northern japan a few hours ago. the preliminary magnitude is 6 hoey -- 6.4. officials say there may be a change sea levels but there's no risk of a tsunami. so far there are no reports of damage involved in this morning's quake. >>> a protest over the trayvon martin shooting is planned at the white house just about 90 minutes from now. we're hearing the shooter, gary zimmerman, told police that trayvon martin attacked him first. coming up at 7:47, hear how lawmakers in washington, d.c. are responding and what martin's parents plan to do on capitol hill. >>> foster city police say it appears the shooting of a man in a reported break-in was a case of mistaken identity. officers responded to the call. when officers arrived, they heard gunshots. they say a 24-year-old san mateo man was seriously injured when he was shot by someone in the home. investigators believe the 24- year-old victim had been drinking with friends the night before and that he was trying to get in the home because he thought it belonged to a friend.

. >> from little rock, arkansas on c-span 2 and 3. >> northern and southern oversee operations in the u.s. hemisphere. at 9:30 eastern, they look at the 2013 budget and what it means for the northern and southern commands that. hearing will be live on c-span 3. the head of the transportation security administration said airport screeners found more than 1300 guns in carry on bags last year. speaks at the national press club in washington, tsa administrator said despite complaints, most airport security officers work in the most professional way. >>> good afternoon and welcome to the national press club. my name is teresa warner and i'm the 105th president of the national press club. we are the leading professional organization to journalists committed to the future with programming with events such as this while fostering a free press worldwide. for more information, please visit our website at www.press.org. to donate to the programs offered to the public through our national press club institute, please visit be www.press.org/institute. on behalf of the members worldwide, i would li

. >> to the rest of your headlines now and fox news alert. 6.8 magnitude quake rocking the northern coast of japan prompting tsunami advisories. waves are expected to arrive any moment in the same region hit hard by last week's quake and tsunami. 19,000 people were killed. a little bit of silver lining here. those waves expected to be small ones. so far, there are no reports of any damage from this quake defense secretary leon panetta landing overnight in afghanistan as tensions continue to rise there. the unannounced two-day trip but preplanned for weeks but taken on a new tone after an american soldier killed 16 last weekend. panetta has denounced the killings. today, he'll visit with u.s. and u.k. military leaders and speak to a group of about 200 troops. meantime, we're getting brand new details about the u.s. soldier accused in that shooting rampage. military sources saying aerial surveillance cameras captured him crawling back to his base and raising his hands in surrender. he was reportedly wearing his military uniform along with a traditional afghan shawl concealing his gun. the s

heavy snow in the northern rockies, cascades and in sierra nevada. thunderstorms around k.c. little rock as well as memphis, and a chance of afternoon rain from nashville to the northeast. >> 54 in beantown, 55 in the big apple. 75 in atlanta. 80s in dallas and miami. chicago, 63. 50s in the pacific northwest. 63 in sacramento, 83 in phoenix. >> definitely ready for that warm weather to come back. >> bring it back. >>> coming up, overnight, no winner of the megamillions jackpot. wait till you see how big friday's drawing will be. >> the biggest ever. >> ever. >>> plus, this morning, someone had to be the first to go, yep, we'll take you backstage with "dancing with the stars." >>> also, an incredible survival story from the texas coast. a fishing trip that changed everything. we're right back. >>> be patient about the economy. that's the word from federal reserve chairman ben bernanke who tells diane sawyer things are better now, but, still, it's a little too early to declare the economic recovery complete. >> why say that we, you know, it's far too early to declare victory. >> you don't

northern rockies. thunderstorms from little rock to detroit. showers along the gulf coast.cause i thought you may head up to, say, new england, where it's cooler. 47 in boston. low 80s in atlanta and miami. 70s in chicago, detroit and indianapolis. colorado springs 74. and sacramento, beautiful sacramento, 64. >> i think that i could swing that. take the train up there. >> sacramento? >> no. to boston. >> oh, okay. >>> well, there's an art festival this weekend in north carolina showcasing skin art. maybe i could just check this out. organizers say the first annual asheville tattoo fest could bring $2.5 million into the local economy. >> that's right. they're expecting some 5,000 people to attend besides paula. artists, vendors, models and customers. some of the artists are local. others have national fame thanks to, what else, cable reality tv shows. >> t.j. has a huge tat on his back. but we'll show you that after the break. >> we'll be right back. ♪ tattoo, tattoo ♪ sexy dragon ♪ tattoo, tattoo ♪ so very [ male announcer ] we got a real mom and the family car to do an ex

it is unclear what caused the crash. >>> this morning a powerful earthquake rocked the same area of northern japan that was devastated just over one year ago. the quake was centered off the northernmost island with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8. last year, a 9.0 quake triggered that massive tsunami and nuclear crisis leaving as many as 20,000 people dead. >>> now to wall street, which is coming off a very strong day on tuesday. the dow hit its highest level in more than four years. the that is dak closed about 3,000 for the first time in over 11 years. >> pretty impressive. among the factors driving the stocks higher, solid retail sales in february and positive news from the fed on unemployment and bank stress tests. senior writer robin farzad of bloomberg business week is here to break it down. >> there's a lot of talk about the stress tests. for most of us, that's lost in the ether. what's the important take away for people at home and how it relates to the average person? >> the banks are led by jpmorgan, jamie -- came out and said we've gotten our groove back. so much so that we can pay

rock dusting. in the areas that the inspectors were in, prior to the explosion, they were up on head gate 22, which was a development section on the northern side of the mine. this is where the explosion force was the worst in that mine that we found. on march the 15th, inspectors went into that section, did their inspection, sampled the rock dust and what the lab found was at that time that section was basically in compliance. all of the samples were in compliance. between the 15th of march, and april 5th, something happened and the inspectors were not in that area. if you look at the company's record books during that period, it appears that there was a lot of dust and combustible material loading up. if you look at the building which for the long hall was and on march 15th conducted an inspection, issued an order on the tail drive of the belt and had a belt itself. and they went back in on the 24th of march to make their last inspection which they required the company to clean it up and that was terminated based on the inspection and that was the last time an inspector was in that area. and if you look at the company record books of the

northern virginia. >>> don't forget we're a little more than a week away from the sun trust rock 'n' roll u.s.a. marathon. the marathon and half marathon take place on saturday, march 17. the race starts at 8:00 a.m. and we'll have live coverage from 8:00 to 11:00 right here on wusa9. wake up with mike and me. they had one in new orleans last weekend. 22,000 people showed up. if you're one of the people who swore you wouldn't change after you had kids, you might relate to a new movie out this weekend. >> good luck with that. "friends with kids" about two 30 somethings trying to have it all, even with a baby in the mix. >> reporter: "friends with kids" is an adult comedy about trying to be a parent while clinging to the single life. >> we really want to have a kid. we just don't want to subject that kid to our tragic marriage. >> reporter: it reunited four of the cast members if "bridesmaids." they're fighting over parenting and marriage. >> my character is not happy and she's frustrated and wanting something from her husband that she's not getting. >> apparently i can only play opposite kristin

rocks of some sort to shape their stones? . >> most of what they did was stone. metallurgy was just starting to move up into northern chijuajua at that time and they were working with copper. that was just ornamental, so there was no metal going on at all other than imported bells. >> and the shells, they went down to cortez -- not lake -- the cortez sea to get, was that mostly hard or brittle? . >> it was hard but not tool hard. the colorado plateau is covered with chert, a glassy rock that is really really good for making tools, making very sharp edges. you find there are pieces of chert all over the place and you can still cut your skin open very quickly with it and it's been sitting out in the open. >> where does chert come from? . >> it's a marine rock that's mostly silica. you find it in these layers, sandstone layers. if you are especially in a marine or water environment, you will find this layer of chert. it's in all colors, purple, green, red, blue. it's a beautiful rock. . >> one thing i wanted to ask you, the review in the paper recently on sunday said that your book is different from all the other books

rocked all the way around the block. did we fall on the subject of a lot in northern california hiker says that he was pulled from the jaws of a mountain lion by a bear. that is his story and he's sticking to it. bob bass of paribas says he was out hiking monday when he came across big floods, and we came across a mother bear and two cubs and as he turned to leave the mountain lion pounced on his back and given no where. he says he tried to fight off, the bear though sprang into action. >>> is and coming around to i saw something coming from the left and it was the parents grabbing the throat of the mountain lion in japan. >>> he would write down about a lottery ticket. and then the here's the big cat was stalking the bear cubs and he got in the way. he says both animals ran off after the fights and instead of going to the hospital he went panning for gold. his luck was pretty bad day for fish and game is looking into the big story and say so far haven't found much to substantiate it. >>> from the weather center we have a true story for you are taking a look right now the city of san francisco and mostly cloudy skies and

championship which tees off on wednesday in florida northern irishman remark arroyo will be very much in the headlines after claiming the world n o one rocking last weekend following his win at the honda classic but pressure says the twenty two year old is just part of thinking i feel like i do thrive you know in the spotlight and i like the attention not someone attention seeker i. like. you know you know you're doing something right when you're spotlight and you know i'd love to keep myself here for a while had a tremendous run he's. being extremely consistent and obviously that the when last week was press if i didn't see much of it to be played great and you know i've struggled and that's the way the rankings work you know if you struggle with the game you're going to drop down. the european freestyle and greco-roman wrestling championships are underway in serbia but one a key member of team russia isn't there a limb pick the winner not let but you're off with more than an eye on this summer's a limpid games us from on cost for every port. i have money left but a year off was virtually unknown before the two thousand and four appen summe

rock. heavy snow in the cascades and northern rockies. downpours from seattle to portland.in new york and new england, and some showers in the southeast. >> it is 83 in miami, 79 in atlanta. 73 in new york. 78 in detroit. 68 omaha. 65 in the twin cities. 40s in the pacific northwest, and 68 in sacramento. >>> the arizona woman who you are about to meet is a real dancing star. virginia havy is 102 years old. she's still tripping the lights. she took up competitive dancing just 15 years ago and says it's really good exercise. >> she trains with mick milligan. he sees a real love of dancing in her just like everybody at the dance center. they are in the middle of rehearsals for their next competition coming up monday night on abc's "dancing with the stars." coming up in may. >> she would do well, though. love to see people living that well that long. we'll be back with more "world news now" right after this. ♪ just dance >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by cancer treatment centers of america. hello, i'm alex trebek. for over 10 years now, i've been represe

northern rockies. cascades and sierra nevada. thunderstorms around kansas city, little rock and memphis.nio to much of florida and afternoon rain from nashville to the northeast. >> 54 in boston. 65 in new york. 80s from dallas to miami. 72. chicago, 63. 50s in the pacific northwest. >>> most of us are happy with gas mileage of 30 or 40 miles to the gallon. how great would it be if you could get between 300 and 400 miles instead. that's a deal. >> that's the ambitious goal for some minnesota high school students taking part in an upcoming competition. without revealing any secrets, they are using aerodynamics on the special stock car they are building. >> competitors drive around a track, drain the gas tank and see which team actually used the least fuel. 300 to 400. imagine how much people would save these days with that kind of engine? >> safe for a car seat? >> no. wishful thinking. >>> we'll be right back with more "world news now" right after this. >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by united health care. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp...